POPULATION FUND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ACCEPTS HONORARY DEGREE AT TULANE UNIVERSITY IN NEW ORLEANS
Press Release
POP/726
POPULATION FUND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ACCEPTS HONORARY DEGREE AT TULANE UNIVERSITY IN NEW ORLEANS
19990514 NEW YORK, 14 May (UNFPA) -- The Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Dr. Nafis Sadik, today accepted an honorary Doctor of Science degree and will deliver a commencement address at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The University described Dr. Sadik as an inspiration for women and men everywhere and as a leader in the field of family planning. Also, the degree was an acknowledgement of her work as a physician and a women's and human rights advocate, the institution said in a statement it issued today. Tulane University is a private, non-sectarian research university with 11 schools and colleges.Dr. Sadik was selected "in recognition of her enormous contribution to public health issues", the University said in its statement. "Her outstanding reputation as a practitioner in the field of population and development has won her the esteem of leaders throughout the world."
"Dr. Sadik has been honoured by governments, universities and prestigious organizations worldwide for her dedication towards the welfare and rights of women and children throughout the world", the University's statement added. "She has also been a role model for women, continually encouraging other women to find careers in her field."
"The international community's understanding of reproductive health as a social issue has undergone a revolution since the UNFPA started work 30 years ago", Dr. Sadik said in her acceptance speech. "Reproductive health is now part of a broader agenda for human rights and social development in the twenty-first century."
The UNFPA is the largest internationally funded source of population assistance to developing countries and those with economies in transition. It helps them improve reproductive health and family planning services, based on individual choice, and to formulate population policies that support sustainable development.
For more information, please contact the UNFPA in New York: Abubakar Dungus at (212) 297-5031, and e-mail: dungus@unfpa.org; or Jesper Jensen at (212) 297-5040, and e-mail: jensen@unfpa.org.
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